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Pioneering—the knowledge of ropes, knots, and splices along with the ability to build rustic structures by lashing together poles and spars—is among the oldest of Scouting's skills. Practicing rope use and completing projects with lashings also allow Scouts to connect with past generations, ancestors who used many of these skills as they sailed the open seas and lived in America's forests and prairies.

Pioneering merit badge requirements

Do the following:

a. Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you might encounter while participating in pioneering activities and what you should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards.

c. Demonstrate and explain when to use the following lashings: square, diagonal, round, shear, tripod, and floor lashing.

Explain why it is useful to be able to throw a rope, then demonstrate how to coil and throw a 40-foot length of 1/4- or 3/8-inch rope. Explain how to improve your throwing distance by adding weight to the end of your rope.

Explain the differences between synthetic ropes and natural-fiber ropes. Discuss which types of rope are suitable for pioneering work and why. Include the following in your discussion: breaking strength, safe working loads, and the care and storage of rope.

Explain the uses for the back splice, eye splice, and short splice. Using 1/4- or 3/8-inch three-stranded rope, demonstrate how to form each splice.

Using a rope-making device or machine, make a rope at least 6 feet long consisting of three strands, each having three yarns. Whip the ends.

Explain the importance of effectively anchoring a pioneering project. Describe to your counselor the 1-1-1 anchoring system and the log-and- stake anchoring methods.

With the approval of your counselor, demonstrate and use a rope tackle. Be sure the rope tackle is secured properly. Explain the advantages and limitations of using a rope tackle. Describe the potential damage that friction can do to a rope.

By yourself, build a trestle using square and diagonal lashings. Explain why trestles are used when constructing pioneering projects.

With the approval of your counselor and using appropriate lashings and pioneering techniques, build and use one full-size pioneering project from either group A or group B. Your project must comply with the requirements of the Guide to Safe Scouting. (Requirement 10 may be done at summer camp, at district or council events, or on a troop camp outing.)

Group A: Tower OR bridge

Anchor your project as appropriate and necessary. Explain how your anchoring system works.

Group A projects may be worked on in a group and with others.

Group B: Camp chair OR camp table

Group B projects must be worked on individually.

All pioneering projects constructed for this merit badge must comply with height standards as outlined in the Guide to Safe Scouting.

The official source for the information shown in this article or section is:Boy Scout Requirements, 2014 Edition (BSA Supply SKU #637685)

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